NATIVE LAND LAWS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 419, 30 January 1909, Page 8

NATIVE LAND LAWS.

alLegei*. chaos and corrtjbtion. ;: JBY TBLEGRAI>H—PRESS ASSOCIATION.) . .V btrong remarks were made at the Chamber,of Commerce' this ;morning, concerning .the Native, land. laws.and Native land administration generally. An application had been made for tho appointment of a resident Judge of .the Native Land Court at Wangauui, and ' more. frequent' sittings of the Court,. but. this was refused by;:the Chief. Judge, who said Wanganuv was already treated the'-same as' other places, and he had only a limited, staff. One speaker 'said .there were already twelve judges, wlio-were tumbling over one another.' The Mayor said the trouble was due ; .to the fact .that, the whole of the Native laws were m such a state, of chaos-that no one understood thorn'; and the system dealing i with Native lands-.'reeked 'with-'corruption.' . Until the whole system' was cleaned out. from the bottom it. would never do any good; '■'.■' '•■. Mr. Hog(in, M.P., said every member, of the House knew how Native matters had been drifting, a state of.things for which Parliament was to blame. Very few of:the--South' Island members took-an interest in Native matters, which were left to six or ten members of the North Island to deal with. Until the woight of Parliament centred on Native legislation, nothing effective would be done. He believed tho Premier- Would make a change before long, and referred to the work of consolidating the Native laws now going on.' . ' '■'" . ■■;■ '■ ■'■'■' ■•-.■' ■ It was resolved to interview' the Native Minister; and'invite,the co-operation of other chambers, with n view to getting resident' judges and regular sittings of. the Court fixed, as in the Supreme Court. : . '. . ; ■:■